Ceit, in addition to sending me a jacket, sent me this fabulous twist dress, after she saw my home-made version.

So now I have two options that I think are both pretty good for this upcoming wedding (we leave in less than three days, ulp!)

Ceit's dress is a raspberry color (it doesn't seem as bright as fuschia to me, but I don't know my colors well), and my homemade one is more cranberry. I'd wear the silver shoes and lighter necklace with either one, most likely.

Which one should come with me to California?(Beach afternoon wedding, the dress code is "Hawaiian casual")

Ceit was so generous as to send me a jacket that was too big for her. And look! It fits!

I'm beyond thrilled - It's white perforated pleather, with sci-fi silver panels that didn't show up very well in the pic. It fits great (over this bulky sweater it doesn't zip - but I'd wear it open with almost everything anyway).

Sorry for hogging the forum tonight! I'm not used to this much unscheduled time. (And really should be doing the dishes....)

Here's what I think will be my swimsuit for the summer. The top is padded and has underwires - giving me MUCH more support and coverage than my other options. It's a bit lower cut than I want, but it's a swimsuit after all. I made the bottoms by cutting apart a different, non-supportive swim top and sewing it as a very mini skirt to black swim shorts. Does it work?

This is the one my kids approved.

#3 is the other one they said was "okay", but not as good as this one. And it also doesn't have the support/padding I like in the bust.

What do you think? Will it do? (I'm not sure I can do anything about if if not - other than wear a tee shirt over it - at least not for our upcoming ocean visit. But I could look for a replacement once we return).

I doubt I'll get it, because I feel like I have very little disposable funds while I'm facing the prospect of buying gas for 12 days of road tripping. But I thought I'd share - I'm so wishing for the "sahara" colorway.

Next week, we're taking a 12 day road trip, sight-seeing all the way from Eastern Nebraska to Los Angeles. We're fitting eight people in an eight-passenger mini-van, so there's not lots of room to spare. I made the following packing list for my kids:

5 undies4 tops (three short and one long sleeved)3 bottoms (two shorts or skirts, one long pants)2 shoes (one sandals, one close-toed)1 jacket

Additionally, there will be a bag with a "nice" outfit for each of us (to wear to the wedding we're going to), and a bag for PJs, and a bag for swimwear.

We are planning to do laundry at least once, probably twice.

I'm trying to adhere to the same guidelines I gave the kids (it's not easy!)

Tops: red, blue and gray. All ones that I don't mind if they get ruined or stained, they're comfy and breathable. Still deciding on the long sleeved top. I should probably go with something sweater-like for frigid A/C situations, but I want to be able to layer it over my short-sleeved ones here... Hmm...

Bottoms: gray jeans (most comfy, don't mind if they get ruined), and navy capris (also comfy, and don't mind if they get ruined). Trying to decide on a third bottom - maybe the gray sporty capris, or the black more polished capris? Or maybe a skirt? Not sure. Should I consider blue jean capris?

Jacket: I'm not sure: I want to take my blue denim (I'll probably wear it with my swim suit), but I'm also kinda wanting either my pink sporty jacket or my orange denim jacket, to provide some color in an otherwise pretty drab capsule.

Shoes: These Dansko sandals and my runners. I may cheat an throw in my keens (they're red), since they're good for water. I also have these black water shoes.... decisions, decisions...

I'll be taking my black belt, so that I have something bookend my shoes, since I'm taking nothing else black... (Maybe I should reconsider that too...)

#1 was a trial outfit for an upcoming 12 day road trip (post about packing for that later) - gray top, blue jeans and water shoes. All failed. The jeans are too tight in the waist, the top has rolled sleeves which make layering over it a pain, the shoes bite into my toes.

#2 Worn to church - the purple-pink-white-black squares top, with black capris and a white jacket in the frigid A/C

Somehow today I ended up wearing only black and white (and a bit of gray). I'm not sure it worked - probably should have added my white chain necklace.

What do you think?

Also, what do you think about this top? It's very roomy, and I feel like I'm swimming in it, but in a good way. I may use it as a pattern to make some more like it. It this one, in black, in a large. (I'm usually between a medium and a large. And of course, I got it at GoodWill).

Here's a few WIWs from the past few days. Nothing terribly special, but I was pretty happy with them for what they were.

#1 felt like ALGO, but my hubby voted to keep all the accessories, so I did.

#2 is blue and green with a white canvas belt that I found. It's not perfect, but it'll hold the spot until I find the perfect white belt. I actually wore it with my orange jacket (#4), but as you can see, that pic turned out horrid. I have no idea what the camera thought it should focus on. Were the white shoes a bad move?

#3 Was just something I threw on to not be wearing pajamas out the door to run an errand - bootcut jeans, striped top and my hot pink sporty jacket.

Suggestions for improvement?

I still need to show you my remaining summer tops. #1 and #2 show two solid ones. (#1 is a peacock color, and #2 is cobalt). Should those stay? I'm down to a reasonable number of summer tops now - perhaps I'll photo them tomorrow.